Top 7 Credit Card Offers For Those With Excellent Credit

Do you have excellent credit? If so, banks are actively looking to win you as a new credit card customer by offering some unprecedented deals. Although banks have been more careful about acquiring customers with questionable credit since the 2008 Financial Crisis, they are now fighting harder than ever to win coveted customers with great credit. If you are in the excellent credit sweet spot, they are effectively giving you money (and a lot of it) to use their credit cards. These are the best credit cards for excellent credit we’ve reviewed that you can take advantage of today.

If you’re in the market for a great cash back rewards cards that also has a long 0% APR, the Discover it Cash Back card is a smart pick. To start, Discover will match the cash back you earn at the end of your first year as a card member. So if you earn $300 in cash back, Discover will match that $300 for a total of $600 cash back! You can really rack up the cash back by earning an ongoing 5% cash back (an effective 10% back your first year after the Cashback Match Bonus) in categories that rotate each quarter you activate (on up to $1,500 in combined purchases, then 1% back), and 1% back on all other purchases. From January through March, you’ll earn 5% back at gas stations and wholesale clubs! In addition to all this, cardholders will get a 14-month 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers (then it’s 13.74% to 24.74% variable), with a 3% balance transfer fee. The Discover it Cash Back card really does have it all – cash back, an extra cash back bonus (2X cash back your first year!), a lengthy 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers AND no annual fee.

The Bank of America Cash Rewards credit card features the highest intro bonus with the lowest spend of any cash back card we review. Cardholders who apply online will earn $200 online cash rewards after spending $500 on purchases in the first 90 days of account opening — that’s a 40% bonus! In terms of ongoing rewards, the Bank of America Cash Rewards credit card earns 3% cash back at gas stations and 2% cash back at wholesale clubs and grocery stores (up to $2,500/quarter in combined gas/grocery/wholesale club purchases, then it’s 1% back), along with 1% cash back on all other purchases. Cash back rewards earned with the card can be redeemed as a statement credit, a check or an electronic deposit into a Bank of America checking or savings account — the last option will earn a 10% customer bonus every time you redeem! What’s more, Bank of America Preferred Rewards clients can earn a bonus of 25% to 75%, depending on their relationship status, when they redeem their cash back rewards as a deposit into their Bank of America account. The Bank of America Cash Rewards credit card also has a lengthy 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers, as cardholders receive a 0% intro APR on purchases for 12 billing cycles (then a 14.99% to 24.99% variable APR applies), as well as a 0% intro APR for 12 billing cycles on balance transfers made in the first 60 days of account opening (then a 14.99% to 24.99% variable APR applies). There’s a balance transfer fee of 3% or $10, whichever is greater, but this fee is likely a lot lower than the ongoing interest you’re paying on your current credit card. Rounding out this top-rated cash back credit card, which is available to those with good to excellent credit (usually considered a credit score of 700 or higher), is no annual fee.

Are you interested in a great balance transfer card? If so, the Citi Diamond Preferred Mastercard (a NextAdvisor advertiser) features a lengthy 21-month 0% intro APR on balance transfers – one of the longest intro APRs of any card we’ve reviewed. With this long intro APR, you can sail straight into 2020 without paying a dime of interest. The card does have a hefty 5% balance transfer fee ($5 min) to consider, but this one-time fee may save you more than paying a higher interest rate on another card. There’s also no annual fee and a nice 12-month 0% intro APR on purchases. The Citi Diamond Preferred Mastercard’s perks and benefits make it the perfect card for anyone who is interested in transferring balances from other high-interest credit cards to this one.

With a winning combination of great travel rewards and flexible reward redemption, the Capital One Venture Rewards Card hits the spot for anyone in the market for a travel card. You’ll earn 50,000 bonus miles – equal to $500 in travel!! – after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, and from now through Jan. 22, 2020, you’ll earn unlimited 10X miles on hotel bookings made with the card at Hotels.com/Venture, which is huge for any traveler! Plus, you’ll earn a straightforward 2 miles per $1 you spend on all other purchases, making it easy to keep track of what you’re earning. To redeem your rewards, just use your card to book your travel, and then use your earned miles as a statement credit against the travel you booked. You can also use your miles to book travel directly through Capital One Rewards Center. As an added bonus, if you don’t have enough miles to pay for the entire trip you can use as many as you have and pay the difference. The card has a $0 intro annual fee for the first year (it’s $95 after that) and no foreign transaction fees.

The Wells Fargo Propel American Express Card is a terrific credit card that can earn you a ton of extra rewards on a number of different categories. You’ll earn a whopping 30,000-point bonus — equal to $300 cash back! — after spending $3,000 on purchases with your new card in the first 3 months. Plus, you’ll get an uncapped 3X points on dining out or ordering in, popular streaming services (including Netflix and Spotify) and travel, which includes flights, hotels, homestays, car rentals and more. You’ll also earn 3X points for gas station, rideshare and transit purchases, which is perfect for any commuter, and 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases. In addition, you’ll enjoy a 12-month 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers (with an intro balance transfer fee of 3% for 12 months, then it’s 5%). What’s more, when you use your Wells Fargo Propel American Express Card to pay your monthly cell phone bill, you’ll receive up to $600 of mobile protection against covered damage or theft (note that there’s a $25 deductible). As if that isn’t enough, this card also has no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees.

Like to travel? This card is for you. First, it starts off by earning you 2 points for each $1 spent on travel and dining out and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases. That’s followed up by a 50,000-point intro bonus that you’ll earn after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months – equal to a whopping $500 cash back. Redeeming your earned points via Chase’s Ultimate Rewards saves 20% off travel costs, enabling you to stretch that 50,000 point intro bonus into $625 in travel. You can also redeem your points for cash back, gift cards and merchandise. The best part is that you can transfer your points to many frequent travel programs with no transfer fees, including United MileagePlus, Southwest Rapid Rewards, Hyatt Gold Passport and Marriott Rewards. That means 1,000 points are equal to 1,000 partner miles/points, straightforward and simple. This feature is likely to appeal to road warriors who are members of various partner programs, as users aren’t limited to spending their points via Chase’s rewards program. In fact, according to our travel rewards card analysis, your 50,000 point intro bonus is worth more than $1,000 when transferred to Hyatt’s reward program. There is a $95 annual fee, but it is waived the first year.

When it comes to balance transfers, you can’t go wrong with The Amex EveryDay Credit Card from American Express (a NextAdvisor advertiser). This card holds the top spot in our balance transfer credit card reviews because it offers a 15-month 0% intro APR on balance transfers requested in the first 60 days (then the APR is 14.74% to 25.74% variable) and has no balance transfer fee for transfers made in the same 60-day period, which can save you a boatload of money! In fact, a $0 intro balance transfer fee can save you hundreds of dollars in fees, while the 0% intro APR allows you to escape your current credit card’s interest rates. In addition, the 15-month 0% intro APR also extends to purchases (then it’s 14.74% to 25.74% variable), and the card has $0 annual fee. Even better, The Amex EveryDay Credit Card from American Express earns rewards, which means it’s a balance transfer credit card that makes sense to keep in your wallet long after the 0% intro APR expires! Those who spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months will earn 10,000 Membership Rewards points — that’s worth $100 when redeemed through American Express Travel! In terms of ongoing rewards, you’ll earn 2 points per $1 spent at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000/year in purchases, then it’s 1 point per $1) as well as 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases. If you use your card to make 20 or more purchases in a billing cycle, you’ll get 20% more points on those purchases! This card also requires good to excellent credit (typically thought to be a credit score of 700 or higher) for approval. All in all, The Amex EveryDay Credit Card from American Express is a great card for anyone looking for a combination of a balance transfer and rewards credit card.

Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of the credit card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. This content was accurate at the time of this post, but card terms and conditions may change at any time. This site may be compensated through the credit card issuer Affiliate Program.

A Canadian reader here.
I’m a Costco member, & very happy with the membership.
In Canada, at this point in time, they use Capital One.
I missed a payment & my interest rate went up to 25%
Ther e is no such thing as customer service in that company,
everyone reads from a script, and even the 3 CEO’s refuse to answer emails.
For me, thinking back on a Nasty occurrence with United air forcibly removing a doctor,
I’d still rather fly United than ever deal with Capital one again.
They did inspire us to pay the card out rapidly, and I left them with the message, had you left us alone we would happily carried a balance on that card. You got greedy and you’ve lost us forever.

Hello Tasha Lockyer,
You are great at explaining the ins and outs of credit cards however, could you explain the payout of 1.99% versus 2% when I take a statement credit of my rewards with the Citi Double cash card.

Leave a Reply

Thank you for your comment! It's currently being reviewed by our editors.

These responses are not provided or commissioned by the credit card issuer. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer. It is not the credit card issuer's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

About Author

Tasha Lockyer

Tasha has been working in Silicon Valley for the past 20 years, enjoying a long-lived career in Product Management and Marketing. She is currently the Vice President of Product Management for NextAdvisor, and in addition to product development, I.T. projects and an assortment of other endeavors, she has has spent the last 8 years covering all things credit, credit cards and identity theft protection. Her credit card analysis has been cited in a wide array of leading publications including Forbes, New York Times, Business Insider, CBS News and Huffington Post.

Advertiser Disclosure: NextAdvisor is a consumer information site that offers free reviews and ratings of online services. Many of the companies whose services we review provide us compensation when someone who clicks from our site becomes their customer. This is how we make money to support our site. The results of our analyses, calculators, reviews and ratings are based on objective quantitative and qualitative evaluation of all the cards on our site and are not affected by any compensation NextAdvisor may receive. Compensation may impact which products we review and write about and where those products appear. We do not review all products in a given category. All opinions expressed on this site are our own.